Doosan Fuel Cell Passes Environmental Test for Ship Fuel Cells by Norwegian Classification Society

Doosan Fuel Cell is accelerating its solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) business for ships.

Doosan Fuel Cell announced on the 25th that the core component cell stack of the shipboard SOFC, being developed in collaboration with its subsidiary HiAxium, has passed the environmental test standards of DNV, one of the world's top three classification societies. This is the world's first time that an SOFC has passed a ship environment test.

Doosan Fuel Cell Ship Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (Photo by Doosan Fuel Cell)

Doosan Fuel Cell plans to complete testing and certification of the remaining components and the overall SOFC within this year, deliver the shipboard SOFC, and then proceed with full-scale demonstration.

In October 2022, Doosan Fuel Cell signed a main contract for a 'Consortium for Demonstration of Shipboard Fuel Cells' with oil major Shell, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, and HiAxium. They plan to operate a demonstration vessel on an actual shipping route for one year using a 600kW shipboard SOFC as an auxiliary power unit (APU) to prove the stability and efficiency of the shipboard SOFC.

Considering carbon reduction and fuel savings for economic feasibility, Doosan Fuel Cell expects the shipboard SOFC to be competitive in the market. In July last year, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) passed an amendment to raise the target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping industry by 100% by 2050 compared to 2008 levels.

Doosan Fuel Cell is also developing power generation SOFCs through a technology agreement with the UK’s Ceres Power. Doosan Fuel Cell is preparing for mass production by establishing a 50MW scale factory in the Saemangeum Industrial Complex, aiming to complete development and demonstration of power generation SOFCs by 2024 and to enter the market in earnest from 2025.

A Doosan Fuel Cell official said, "The product competitiveness was excellent enough that there was no power output reduction even under conditions harsher than actual operating conditions, which enabled us to pass this environmental test," adding, "We will also proceed smoothly with certification of the remaining components and do our best to ensure early demonstration on ships."